TallyBlogs

“And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭1:11‬ ‭ When God puts something on your heart it's because it's on His heart too. God has been working on my heart lately to tell others about Him, and as I wrote about it yesterday, I got even more signs that I have to do a better job at it. God revealed to me that spreading the Gospel is not about me but about others. I have to follow His command to do what He wants me to do. Jesus walked the earth and spent most of His time spreading the Gospel, showing the miraculous signs and miracles, and teaching those around Him what to do when He ascended up into Heaven. The same guideline that He gave the disciples is available to you. If you want to understand how to spread the gospel then read the story of Jesus' life how He spread it and what the disciples did after Him. You are just as called to do this and be a light to everyone that you meet as each disciple was. Today, spread the G...

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” Romans‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭ Do you ever back down on sharing your faith due to being afraid of what others will think? I even have done this myself. Sometimes we fear being honest about God and how we should spread the Gospel of Jesus because we don't want to offend others. Sometimes you have to ask yourself would I want someone to tell me about Jesus if I didn't have the privilege of knowing and being loved by Him? You have to make your mind place you in the position of others to understand how important sharing the Gospel really is. We let the enemy control us into not sharing the Gospel by making us fear what others might say or think of us. Others can label us as anything that they want but it doesn't amount to anything in this world because what God says is what matters. Today, if you find yourself in a position to share the Gospe...

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭ Sometimes we get into a cycle of only praying when we need something. God isn't a genie, we can't go to Him when we have a wish or something we need. God is someone who never fails to be there for us and answer our prayers no matter what. Think of prayer as a talk with a friend because that is exactly what it is. You can talk to God in prayer driving down the road, sitting in your bed, at church, on the couch, at the dinner table, at school, and anywhere you want. There are no certain places you have to pray at, God is everywhere all at the same time. He isn't someone who you call and doesn't pick up, He is never too busy to listen or help you. I have learned the best way to make my relationship with God grow is to make sure that He is above my friends, family, and all relationships. The amount of effort and love we put into any k...

“When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” Job‬ ‭42:10‬ ‭ See when we lose things like money, friends, and so-called valuables in our lives, we always assume what we lost is better than what is coming, but truly it is the other way around. What we lose is never better than what God has for us next. Think of the story of Job, even take time to read the story of his sometime. He went through so much loss in his life, and at the end of the story in the Bible, it says that Job prayed for His friends and He was given double what He had before. We used to sing a song at my old church that went like this, "I went to the enemy camp and I took back what he stole from me." It's time for us to take back what the enemy has stolen from us our lives, our peace, our happiness, or friends and family that have gone into the world. What God allows the enemy to take away from you is never the best you'll ever ha...

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.” Psalms‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭ When God delievers you from evil, don't keep in touch. Sometimes people willingly walk out of our lives that we thought would stick around forever, and it hurts. Sometimes God sees that they aren't meant for where you're going, they were only meant for where you've been. Stop questioning God every time He removes someone from your life. See when you're walking the fine line of being a Christian God and being against the world God doesn't let just anyone be in your everyday life. I'm not saying you can't eat with the sinners but being around them all the time is only going to tempt you. God doesn't want you to stumble or be around those who might cause you to. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be around those who could cause us to do so. Don't be so quick to run to those you know aren't good for you, or g...

““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John‬ ‭3:16‬  We all have the want and need to feel loved and cared for. Even from a young age, we wanted our parents, grandparents, and family to love us. The love you have searched for can be found in one place, that being in God. He will love you past any limits. God doesn't love when it is convenient or when you're being a good Christian, even when you drift away God will still love you. The purest form of love is giving up your greatest thing for that person, God gave up His one and only Son so that we can have eternal life. If you ever feel there is a void in your heart remind yourself that the one thing you're missing is the true love from God. I have learned from experience that nothing in or of this world can ever truly make us feel loved the way that Jesus can. He will love us on our worst days and our best, He is always...

“And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.” Hebrews‬ ‭2:4‬ ‭ I have realized that God will confirm things to you in ways that you will understand. I have often prayed for a sign from God to have direction in my life, and most times He does give me one, other times I believe that it is just something that I don't need to know about yet. There was a time in my life when God wanted me to wait, and the thing that I was waiting on was tough. I wanted to jump up and make things happen for myself, but I knew it wasn't right for me to do that. I then would pray for a sign often that I was still continuing to do the right thing by waiting, and every time within 10-20 minutes God would give me that sign again. I think we all need a sign at times because it shows us we are on the right path. I had someone ask me the other day how to ask for a sign from God. My answer was simple, think of something that is...

 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭ Jesus chose you for your exact destiny, and for that, you are always His child. God doesn't choose us for no reason, He chooses us when we are formed in our mother's womb. We are each called for a certain time and for a certain calling. We each are a part of God's master plan in some shape, form, or fashion. See each of our purposes might look different from the other persons, but we each are called to do something very important. However at times, we feel like what we are called to do doesn't do very much, but eventually, we will see that it does mean a lot and help a lot. Think of the story of Esther, she didn't understand why God called her to be queen but later in the book of Esther the Bible says, "For you have been called for such a time as this." She saved the Jews of that time. So many time...

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭ We are so quick to give our hearts away to anyone that we meet as though it doesn't mean much. We think that it's just our heart and if it gets broken then that's on us. The Bible says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." See when we give our hearts to someone it isn't just a meaningless act that will amount to nothing, it is where we choose to go in life after that. Our hearts will even lead us astray, it will lead us to places we think we want to go but not where we need to go. Instead of trusting what you heart says, trust what God says. Your heart has to be completely filled with Jesus, so much so that there is no room for sinful desires, lust, hatered, anger or anything of that kind. See when Jesus comes and fills our hearts fully we then begin to have a heart full of the desire to do the right thing, we desire to be k...

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭ If you keep your eyes on things of the world and the world your relationship with God will begin to sink. See when our focus is on the world we begin to drift from God without even truly realizing it, we start to give in to our sinful desires and before we know it we will be where we said we wouldn't be again. My mom has always said a saying that I understood later on in life that being, "Sin will take you further than you want to go." When you think about it the more you realize it is true. The Bible says that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. That being said when you think about it why would his limit be to only get you to tell a little white lie once and a while, he wants to destroy our lives and our relationship with God. He is miserable and wants us to be that way too. Jesus came so we can have eternal life, and we can be free from ...

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians‬ ‭2:13‬  This verse tells us that God working through us gives us the desire to do what is right. The only way for that is to open our hearts fully to Him. In this generation, we each have our own issues and things we struggle with and truthfully most of us struggle with trust. We have a hard time letting our walls down and opening up, at least I know that I personally do. See with God we cannot do that, we have to learn to quickly let our walls down. Even though we fully trust God oftentimes we will still worry. I went through a time in my life when something really stressful was coming up, something that I wanted to change but had no idea how I could possibly change it. I prayed over it and asked God to fix what I couldn't fix. I prayed and stressed over it as it was coming up and things were staying the same, I felt and heard God speak to me and say, "Why do you do this? You...

“But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”” John‬ ‭11:22‬ ‭ We often times mistake God's silence for His absence. He isn't absent just because He is silent. Think of the story of Lazarus, Jesus was 4 days late. They thought all hope was gone because Jesus was silent. He was a no-show and waited 4 days to come, but the story goes much further than Jesus being 4 days late. Jesus then raises Lazarus from the dead after 4 days. Jesus didn't send a message that He was on the way, or He was just running late. Instead, it was complete silence. Jesus didn't tell them until He had got there. Next time you go through a time of silence remind yourself that sometimes God has to be silent when He is working. Each time that we go through a time of silence with God we normally go to the conclusion that God has walked away from us, but sometimes rather than Him working for us we have walked away from Him ourselves. Don't be so quick to assume that God walked awa...

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭ When we see things we want, things we dream of, and things we want to do and achieve we oftentimes want to take things into our own hands and make things happen. The Bible says that we can make our plans but the Lord will determine our steps. We shouldn't ever make things happen because what God has for us will always find us, and happen. Think about Joesph, He was sold by his own brothers, but at the end of the story, he became the second in command. God doesn't let the things we go through change the destination of where we are headed to. Today, whatever you are dreaming to achieve don't try to force the outcome, pray and ask God to guide you to the right place at the right time if that is what is for you, if not He will give you something better. Whatever dream you have don't force but rather work towards it and if it is meant to be yours it will happen. God will bless you either way. Here...

“The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!” Luke‬ ‭17:6‬ ‭ Stop letting the small things bother you, God doesn't move mountains for us to worry over the dirt underneath it. God is the God of miracles. Your faith is what makes mountains move! You have to stop letting the enemy make you crumble into pieces over small things, that is exactly what he wants. He wants your faith to crumble over the small things so that you cannot have enough faith the overcome the big things. Your faith is what builds your relationship with God and the enemy wants to destroy the foundation of that by making you doubt what God says. If you begin to crumble over the small things the enemy will soon begin to make you doubt God in the big things. You have to stop letting the enemy convince you that God can't and learn that God can and will! Today, instead of crumbling b...

 ““Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.” Matthew‬ ‭14:29‬  ‭The story of Jesus walking on water is one of my favorite stories to read about because it is something that is so supernatural that we can't have any human explanation for it. God doesn't work in the ordinary when He does things for us, He does things in ways that when it does happen you know and everyone knows that it could only be by God's grace. God doesn't like to work in ordinary ways because everyone could come up with a way to explain it, but when things like Jesus walking on water happen, no one can possibly think of a way to explain it. God works in impossible situations to show that He can and will work things out for us! God doesn't need help doing the impossible, honestly, that is where He works best! Today, if you feel there is something impossible in your life that you're praying for God can and will do it. Remind yourself o...

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭ We tend to assume it's "if God can" but instead of that it's more of, "If it's in His plan." If you're praying for something remind yourself that if God hasn't answered it yet it then it isn't about Him not being able to do it it's more about whether is it a part of what God has planned for you. When we pray for something God doesn't choose to ignore us, instead He doesn't give us things that don't align with His plan for us and our lives. Maybe the thing you've been praying for is something that God has designed for later in His plan for you, and the reason you haven't seen things develop quite yet is that it isn't time for you to have that now. When we pray for things we often times assume that just because ...

“Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”” Matthew‬ ‭14:31‬ ‭ I read a quote today that said, "God told Noah to go into the boat, but He told Peter to get out of the boat. Different storms oftentimes require different levels of obedience." See when we face a storm it's oftentimes more about obedience than it is about what we are going through. God doesn't test us, but I do believe that when we go through rough times He wants to see how we react to them. See Noah was obedient and that was because of his faith in God, and Peter stepped out of the boat by his faith. See when we are in a storm we oftentimes want a way out, but have you ever thought that the way out of the storm that you're facing is to prove your obedience to God? Today, if you're in the middle of a storm in your life prove your obedience to God. When He asks you to do something do it without questions, with faith and do it beca...

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50:20‬ ‭ Have you ever had something happen in your life that was completely out of your control and you had no idea how it fits into God's plan for your life? I'm sure that Joesph in the Bible questioned how things would work out for his life. He was betrayed by his brothers and sold by them, but eventually, he became second in command. The story of the disciples on the boat, and Jesus calms the storm. Think of Job who was more than tested in his life, but God gave him back double what he had before. There are so many stories in the Bible that show that those in the stories cannot see what the plan is, but God comes through every time. Today, in that situation that you look at and see no hope and no way for it to work out, remind yourself that just because things look like that doesn't mean that God doesn't have a way to work...

“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭13:22‬ ‭ See when God chooses someone for a purpose and a plan, He doesn't look at you and wonder if you're capable of doing what He is calling you to do, instead, He gives you the ability and strength to do what He has called you to do. He is calling you because He has either already prepared you, or will prepare you for what you are called to do. You will never walk into your calling from God and not be prepared, God does not call the qualified but instead, He qualifies those who are called. When God chose David to be the king, the Bible says that God found a man after His heart, that being David. If you feel as though you haven't found your calling think about where your heart truly is. Is your heart chasing God or chasing the world? Where your heart goes the mind follows...

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭ When the enemy throws insecurities at you, and makes you feel as though you're worthless throw the truth at him. Tell him that you're a child of God, you are chosen and handpicked by God, you are deeply loved by God, you are made in the image of God, and God's mercy goes deep for you. Remind him that his mistake does not have anything to do with you. See he hates that he made a mistake and was kicked out of heaven but we make mistakes and God forgives us daily. It's like when you have a fruit bowl and one fruit goes bad if you don't get the fruit that is bad out of the bowl it will make the others spoil too. He is a rotten apple that wants to make everyone else rotten because of the misery he has to live in. The enemy will do anything and use any tactic that he can to make you as rotten as he is. The wonderful thing about God is that He will fight the battles that we can't. Today,...

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭ Have you ever gone through a time of isolation or maybe you're going through one now. See we take isolation as a sign of punishment from God, but it's a blessing. See it's not really being isolated it's more about being set apart. When God is going to take you to the next level you can't have a million voices around you pulling you the wrong way, you have to be able to hear God clearly to know what to do. When you're going through isolation you might feel alone, but you're not, you're far from alone. You are being promoted for your faithfulness to God and for what He knows you can do for Him with your ministry. If you feel alone remind yourself that there has always been one person beside you no matter who walked away or who left, that is Jesus. He will never leave you. Today, when the doubt creeps in know t...

“They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”” John‬ ‭8:7‬  We are so quick to judge people by what we hear about them, but instead, we should think about how God doesn't judge us by what He knows about us. Jesus is the only person to have ever walked on this earth that was worthy of judging someone, and do you know what He did in that situation? He said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone." That one person out of the whole crowd that could have done it didn't. He chose compassion and forgiveness. After no one threw a stone Jesus said to the woman, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." Next time you hear a rumor of someone instead of feeding into it and listening walk away from it. Don't entertain gossip. The Bible says, "A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends." God doesn't hold the...

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians‬ ‭4:13‬ ‭ Most of the stories in the Bible come from people who had to take courage and put their faith into action. Think of the woman at the well it took courage for her to talk to Jesus out of fear of judgment, Noah was to build an ark for himself and his family and to be the only people left on this earth, Daniel in the lion's den not only in with the lions but with them being hungry, Moses at the Red sea to cross it while being chased, and even Ruth who left her family and stayed with her mother-in-law and had just lost her husband and father in law. What I'm getting at is that whatever you are facing that is taking courage and faith to do it will someday be a testimony, and you will be able to tell of God's goodness and strength that brought you through it. Today, if you faced a difficult situation remind yourself that God is using it for your good, the courage you take to overcome things wil...

“Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.” Joshua‬ ‭21:45‬ ‭ God has always been faithful to His word all throughout the Bible, why would He not be faithful to us and to His words and promises to us? We are quick to assume that God has forgotten us or won't come through for us because things don't happen when we want to. I was praying about a promise God had made to me before and God spoke to me and said, "If I remember to put the rainbow in the sky as the example of my promise to never flood the earth again still today, then isn't the promise I have made to you just as important for me to keep?" I then realized that just because I can't see it, feel it, or even sometimes imagine it doesn't mean that God will not come through with each and every promise He has made and will make in the future. You are still getting that promise that God made to you, He has...

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:1‬ ‭ We have all heard the saying, "Sometimes salt looks like sugar." Imagine biting into a piece of cake expecting a sugary treat but in reality, it was made with salt instead. It wouldn't taste too good, would it? That's what the enemy does when he convinces you that sin is a sweet treat, but sin isn't. See when Eve took the fruit, from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and gave it to Adam and they both chose to sin it wasn't sweet as they thought it would be. It wasn't only lacking in a sweet treat that they got to eat it was also a gateway to sin and pain into the world. When the enemy is trying to convince you to sin he makes it seem like it is the most amazing thing in this world, like it's something that will open your eyes and fill you with joy, but in reality, it will leave you more empty than before. ...

“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” Romans‬ ‭12:10‬ ‭ You can spend twenty-four hours a day talking about Jesus, and that is great but when you love Jesus truly you will set the example of how His love really is. See it's easy to love those who are good to you and do good things for you, but what is more difficult to do is to love those who hurt you and betray you. If Jesus wasn't loving toward those who betray Him then He wouldn't love us. We betray Him by sinning and making the wrong choices. Next time that you talk to or see someone that is difficult to deal with or to love remind yourself that by God's grace and forgiveness, we are loved despite our choices, mistakes, and sins. Be kind to that person and love them unconditionally. To love unconditionally means to love without strings attached, loving someone doesn't mean you have to be their best friend, be someone you date, or even be someone in your daily life, bu...

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”James‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭ Sometimes we slip off the right path with God, and finding our way back to that relationship with Him is hard. I often thought of writing this to help others with what I struggled to find. I found myself drifting from God and needing a way back but I didn't know where to start. When we want to grow a relationship with God we have to begin with a foundation, and the best foundation for the relationship is faith, and knowing His word. When you want to renew your faith to build your faith you need to remind yourself through His word of the amazing things He has done. Your relationship with God is only as close as you want it to be. We all have a choice to follow God or not, but that choice we choose to make comes with a price. If you choose to follow Him it is a free pass into eternity and your salvation, but if you...

“But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭ If we base everything off of feelings instead of the word of God then we will never be where God has for us to be. Your feelings aren't what leads you to the right place your faith and discernment in God are what does. Discernment from God means to understand or know something through the power of the Spirit. When you begin to discern things instead of going by what you think in yourself and what you feel is best that is when you will start to see that God's plan is way bigger than your own. Your feelings are oftentimes what will try to lead you wrong, your feelings go off of emotions when you go by what you're discerning then you're going by what God says. God never lies, God cannot lie and will not lie. When the Spirit comes on you to di...

“Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”” John‬ ‭20:29‬ ‭ I have wondered so many times in my life why Jesus wasn't born in today's time. When people doubt the way He came to the earth, the miracles He has done, and the way He saved each one of us from the sins we were yet to commit then they would see it on the news, social media, and the internet. As I thought about that I felt God speak to me and say, "Where is the faith in that? If everyone in the world had the proof of My existence there would be no faith." See the Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Therefore, faith is based on not being able to see Him. It's like this it's easy to have faith that God will make a way when you have already seen that happen, but what faith means is that you believe in God to make it happen before you see it happening. Today, make sure that your ...

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭ We've all heard the saying, "Parents know best." Think about this though, God knows best. See our parents are always looking out for us and trying to protect us, but so is God. He wants the absolute best for us. We are often times scared to trust others in fear of failure, but it never has to be that way with God. He always knows best and He never fails us. He doesn't just know what happened today, yesterday, a year ago, and what will happen tomorrow He knows every detail of it, and He has it all taken care of always. See when you go to plan an event you plan every detail by thinking about it, such as the time, place, theme, amount of money you will spend, and size of the event, when God plans what is best for you He thinks of every detail very precisely. The Bible says we can make our plans but the Lord directs our steps. You may think your plans are great for your life but once you see wh...

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭14‬ ‭ You start to see yourself differently when you see yourself the way God does. When a child draws, and colors the child sees it as beautiful because it is their creation, and when a parent looks at what their child has done they see it the same way. When God sees you He sees the work of art He spent a lot of time on. You can see yourself the same way once you realize how God sees you. When God looks at you He doesn't see your mistakes, failures, flaws, or the things you're most ashamed of He sees forgiveness, love, compassion, joy, and His child. When you start to grow closer to God you might still have doubt, but eventually, you will begin to see yourself as restored, forgiven, and loved by God. I was always insecure about myself, but the closer I grew to God the more I started to see myself the way that He does. I began to see someone who was chosen and anoi...